Scottish parents could save thousands of pounds by educating their children privately instead of paying over the odds for a home in the catchment areas of the best state schools, according to a study published today.

Reform Scotland compared the average house price for a particular place with the cost of properties in the catchment areas of the best-run local authority schools.

The think tank found that the difference was often more expensive than the cost of private fees for two children during the six years of secondary school.

In particular, the authors said parents in urban areas could save money by educating their offspring privately, citing specific examples in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow.

Of the top ten performing state schools, with the highest proportion of pupils getting three or more Highers, eight had house prices at least a third higher than the local average.

In contrast, eight of the ten worst local authority schools had property prices in their catchment areas that were at least 20 per cent lower than the area’s average.

Using figures obtained by the property website Zoopla, the think tank found the average house price paid in Edinburgh over the past three years was £225,931.

However, this figure increased to £327,313 for the catchment area of Boroughmuir High School, the city’s best-performing state establishment, a difference of £101,382.

A mortgage for the latter sum using a competitive interest rate of 1.99 per cent would cost parents £127,000 to repay over 25 years, the report said.

In comparison, it said fees at George Heriot’s School, George Watson’s College and Erskine Stewart’s Melville Schools – three of the capital’s most eminent independent establishments – are around £10,000 per year.

The cost of educating two children for six years of secondary school would total around £123,000, assuming fees increase at about one per cent annually, it said.

“Therefore, it is cheaper to send two children to private school than buy a house in the catchment area of the best performing school in the city,” it concluded.

The same was true in Aberdeen, where the average cost of a home was £200,000. This increased to £326,000 in the catchment area of the best-performing state school, Cults Academy.

In East Renfrewshire, the average house price was £107,000 but this increased to £205,000 in the catchment area of Williamwood High School, the council-run institution with the best exam results.

The average price of a home in the catchment area of another of the region’s best state schools, Mearns Castle High School, was £256,000.

Meanwhile, the average house price in the catchment area of Hyndland Secondary School, one of the best-performing in Glasgow, was £250,000 compared to the citywide figure of £147,000.

Reform Scotland said the findings demonstrated the unfairness of the Scottish schools system, with wealthy parents able to buy good results for their children, either through paying for private fees or moving to the right areas.

But it said that families unable to find the money for either of these “premiums” were left with little choice but to have their children educated at schools with poor academic records.

Keir Bloomer, a former president of the Association of Directors of Education who sits on the think tank’s board, said: “Scottish education remains highly inequitable.

"This is not about ‘good schools’ and ‘bad schools’ but about our failure to tackle disadvantage effectively. Until effective action is taken, parents will quite naturally try to buy educational success."

The think tank reiterated its call for parents to be given a credit equal to the average cost of educating a pupil in their area that they could use at any school that costs the same or less than the credit, including independent establishments.

The Scottish Tories have called for the introduction of a similar scheme and urged SNP minsters to study the Reform Scotland report closely.

Ruth Davidson, the party’s leader, said: “Not only would this (plan) extend choice, but it would help to break the cycle of underachievement which affects so many children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“While a small number of parents are fortunate enough to be able to move house to benefit their child’s education, this option is not open to the majority.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: "The Scottish Government supports parental choice in deciding which school their children should attend and wherever they choose we're determined to help every young person succeed.

"The most recent PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) figures released by the OECD not only showed a strong overall performance in schools across Scotland, but also that we are beginning to address the attainment gap.

"Skills Development Scotland figures also show 91.4 per cent of school leavers are now in positive destinations such as employment, college or higher education, combined with the achievement of Scotland's best ever exam pass rates last year." The spokesman added that the new Curriculum for Excellence was "providing evidence of high standards of achievement in primary school" and ministers were confident it would "continue progress in future years".